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Charlie Chaplin: My Autobiography by Charles…
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Charlie Chaplin: My Autobiography (edition 1992)

by Charles Chaplin

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
1,1251317,680 (4.08)18
As a child, Charlie Chaplin was awed and inspired by the sight of glamorous vaudeville stars passing his home, and from then on he never lost his ambition to become an actor. Chaplin's film career as the Little Tramp adored by the whole world is the stuff of legend, but this frank autobiography shows another side. He tells of his childhood of grinding poverty in the south London slums and early debut on the music hall stage, his lucky break in America, the struggle to maintain artistic control over his work, the string of failed marriages, and his eventual exile from Hollywood after persecution for his left-wing politics and personal scandals. My Autobiographyis an evocative and compelling account of one of the twentieth century's most remarkable lives.… (more)
Member:applessixeleven
Title:Charlie Chaplin: My Autobiography
Authors:Charles Chaplin
Info:Plume (1992), Mass Market Paperback, 493 pages
Collections:Your library
Rating:
Tags:biography-memoir, to-read, nonfiction

Work Information

My Autobiography by Charlie Chaplin

  1. 10
    Chaplin: His Life and Art by David Robinson (kanadani)
    kanadani: If interested in Charlie Chaplin's life, read his autobiography, "My Autobiography," first, then read "Chaplin: His Life and Art" by David Robinson. They compliment each other well and serve to create a good foundation to understanding the actor's background.… (more)
  2. 00
    My Life in Pictures by Charlie Chaplin (Anonymous user)
    Anonymous user: The natural companion volume. Lavishly illustrated record of Charlie's incredible life, with captions by himself mostly copied from the autobiography but with some new additions. Wonderful introduction by Francis Wyndham and a useful filmography.
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» See also 18 mentions

English (11)  Danish (1)  Catalan (1)  All languages (13)
Showing 1-5 of 11 (next | show all)
Beminnelijke man, een beetje gesteld op rijkdom en luxe wel. ( )
  Ekster_Alven | Sep 25, 2023 |
OK autobiography, but I could tell he was hiding things. Better to read a more accurate biography. ( )
  kslade | Dec 8, 2022 |
Definitely worth a read whether you only have a passing interest in Chaplin or silent movies in general or you know the films well. Do we really get to know the man here?erhaps not by but what is surprising is just how well he writes. Great stuff. ( )
  polarbear123 | May 14, 2015 |
The closeness of "no speech" and "dumb" is so near, that in conjunction with the image of the silliness of the characters, prortrayed by Charles Chaplin it is easy to believe that Chaplin was a simpleton. The autobiography proves any such believer wrong.

The epithet Dickensian is sometimes applied to the autobiography of Charles Chaplin as Chaplin, born in 1889, was born in, and therefore considered belonging to, the Victorian Age, and because his childhood in London of poverty and hardship so closely resembled that of some characters in Dickens' novels. Born into a family of actors, Charles Chaplin soon started his career on the stage, with limited success, initially, in London and Paris.

The "birth" of the classical character "the tramp" does not happen until p. 145, where it is described as a purely coincidental result of improvisation. The largest part of My autobiography deals with the spectacular career Chaplin made in the United States, from being an actor, improvising and personalizing typical gigs to the development of his own film studios. The history of many of Chaplin's movies is described in detail in the context of both the historical background and the cinematographic inventions.

Towards the end of his life, Charles Chaplin was a respected man, and on close terms with the jet-set of all continents. He could not stay in the United States, because of his sympathies for socialism, and his escape, securing his assets is one of the most exciting parts of the autobiography.

My autobiography is a fascinating time document, chronicling the life of a film icon we all know. At nearly 500 pages, it is an extremely well-written piece of history, which is never dry or boring, although a certain interest in film and the business of film and film studios helps. I was never bothered by Chaplin's language, and felt his prose style was entirely natural, and appropriate. As the author of his own screen plays, a fact not often highlighted, My autobiography is another text which is well worth reading, allowing readers a peek into Chaplin's life and a wonderful reading experience of an autobiography belonging to the best pieces of autobiographical writing in the Twentieth Century. ( )
2 vote edwinbcn | Oct 9, 2014 |
Charlie Chaplin... A travers son personnage légendaire de Charlot, il a tout donné au public les émotions les plus pures, rires et pleurs mélangés, les plus folles, les plus déconcertantes ! Ici c'est lui-même qu'il livre dans une autobiographie riche de surprises et de découvertes sur cet homme dont on croyait tout connaître ! Son enfance à la Dickens dans les faubourgs londoniens, ses débuts parisiens, sa lumineuse carrière mêlée à l'âge d'or d'Hollywood, ses découvertes géniales de mise en scène, ses fabuleuses rencontres : Einstein, Wells, Cocteau, Churchill... Une vie virevoltante, une confession tendre et vraie où Charlot nous ravit plus que jamais, car ici il joue son plus beau rôle : celui d'un homme fort et fragile qui se dévoile avec la pudeur des grands.
  PierreYvesMERCIER | Feb 19, 2012 |
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Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Chaplin, Charlieprimary authorall editionsconfirmed
Измирлиев, ВеселинTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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Van een armoedige jeugd tot een roem zonder weerga....
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I was born on 16 April 1889, at 8 o'clock at night, in East Lane, Walworth. Soon after, we moved to West Square, St George's Road, Lambeth. According to Mother my world was a happy one. Our circumstances were moderately comfortable; we lived in three tastefully furnished rooms.
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As a child, Charlie Chaplin was awed and inspired by the sight of glamorous vaudeville stars passing his home, and from then on he never lost his ambition to become an actor. Chaplin's film career as the Little Tramp adored by the whole world is the stuff of legend, but this frank autobiography shows another side. He tells of his childhood of grinding poverty in the south London slums and early debut on the music hall stage, his lucky break in America, the struggle to maintain artistic control over his work, the string of failed marriages, and his eventual exile from Hollywood after persecution for his left-wing politics and personal scandals. My Autobiographyis an evocative and compelling account of one of the twentieth century's most remarkable lives.

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Penguin Australia

An edition of this book was published by Penguin Australia.

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